Graczyk Thaddeus K
Department of Molecular Microbiology and Immunology, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615 North Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD 21205, USA.
Trends Parasitol. 2005 Mar;21(3):104-7. doi: 10.1016/j.pt.2005.01.002.
Despite enormous efforts, the patterns of the rise of eukaryotic life on Earth are not clearly defined. The ability of eukaryotes to produce energy using oxygen and sugars was a key factor in advancing life on Earth towards complex multicellular organisms. However, this was not the only way to produce energy and survive. Mitochondria probably appeared soon after the oxygen increase in the Earth's atmosphere but many microaerophilic protists require little or no oxygen to survive. New ultrastructural, biochemical and molecular phylogeny data about structures and processes involved in the generation of energy by currently known protists have forced the revision of understanding of the "tree of life".
尽管付出了巨大努力，但地球上真核生物生命崛起的模式仍未明确界定。真核生物利用氧气和糖类产生能量的能力是推动地球上的生命朝着复杂多细胞生物发展的关键因素。然而，这并非产生能量和生存的唯一方式。线粒体可能在地球大气中氧气增加后不久就出现了，但许多微需氧原生生物生存所需的氧气很少或根本不需要氧气。有关目前已知原生生物能量产生所涉及的结构和过程的新的超微结构、生化和分子系统发育数据，迫使人们对“生命之树”的理解进行修正。
